Thursday, 17 August 2017

Monday, Aug. 14

We eased into the day. Izzy was up first, she beat me, too! By 7 a.m. she was on the couch, under a blanket, dressed, and thinking. I put out the garbage, she declined to help! My foot was a bit sore, the wrap helped.

This helps!

Grampa went off to volunteer at the therapeutic riding farm. We began breakfast routine, me an' Izzy. parfait, toast, on the back deck. Our plan is to go canoeing this afternoon, after gramps brings the car home. We shall see.

We did a clean-up of what was their room, moving the kid's books down to the basement.

That led to much reading time.
Next, pool time. Josee decided we should write a book. We began, using some of the pool, outdoor toys. That fell apart when the 'wand' broke. They dried off, hung up suits and towels, and came indoors. I prepared lunch for Izzy, who was peckish. Josee wasn't quite ready.

Other than when Jos accidentally smacked Izzy upside the head with her paddle, we've been doing well! Oh, and a 'blister', which was actually a splinter.
"Gramma, I have a blister."
"Where?"
"On the bottom of my foot."
"Oh, you mean a splinter!"
"Yes, Gramma. You need to get some tweezers..."
"Grampa's in the shower. That's where the tweezers are!"
"Oh. We'll wait." Iz is growing so fast into such a young girl!

"Leaving nothing to chance," said Grampa, " just in case you didn't know (about slivers)!"
These are the magic wands. The pool was well-worth the $75! Another great Grampa purchase

Annie found a mouse. Jos thought it was a fur ball! Jos made it a bed. This was before canoodling. We checked, after, and it was gone.
Movie: Tangled.
Pizza dinner
Grampa won Jeopardy. Izzy was on Gramma's team! Grampa really knows US history!

Wednesday, 16 August 2017

Sunday, Aug. 13, Day 2

Momma and Papa went home prior to lunch.
Josephine was reading in the basement. Josee is a voracious reader. That's something she got from me! Ok, honestly, her momma taught herself to read at age 3, through Sesame Street. Seriously!

Isabelle thought she would go for a swim. We had fun!
Next, ironically enough, they played school in the basement. Gramma a retired teacher!

Dorah decided to go walkies with me. The girls were avoiding the horrid mosquitoes! We have a tree fallen over in the meadow. Dorah continues to show signs of being relatively normal. I was fetching CD cards from the trailcams. (There was a Coyote! )

You'll notice I managed to do my laundry, it was hanging on the line. Izzy had 3 swims, Jos had 2.Grampa went into town for more groceries. he phoned, asked if we wanted to go see the raptors at the Garlic Festival in Perth, but the girls were perfectly happy in the pool.
He managed two more errands, including a 'close eyes' for dessert: a cupcake each.

In the afternoon, as is tradition, we watched a video: Tomorrowland! I heartily recommend it. I'd suggested it to the kids awhile ago. Grampa and I saw it and liked it.

Bedtime, they read for awhile.
I went down about 9 p.m., to check on them, Grampa had headed to bed to read, too.
Izzy was asleep. Jos said to me, "She's so cute when she sleeps!" It's a touching moment.

Izzy has a can of beans and a bed buddy. The bed buddy lights up.
She wanted someone to sleep with her. Momma said "You have your sleep toy. "
"No, like a human being."
"Oh, a human bean?" Momma fetched her a can of beans.

Tuesday, 15 August 2017

Sat., Aug. 12

Poor Grampa had a list. It included balloons. He found a few other goodies.
This was the plan: Momma's birthday party. Then, all do a sleepover, and then Momma and Papa go home. Caitlin's birthday isn't until Wednesday, but this was the plan!

The girls are here for a week, again! We'll see what trouble we can get into. Grampa always says, "beer and chips all around!" He doesn't drink, and we are pretty careful about what the kids eat here, since their parents are pretty careful, as well. Birthdays don't count, of course!

I videotaped the arrival. Josephine remarked, "You got your camera fixed," but I didn't, I ordered a new one. It is fabulous!

I have fond memories of watching Sesame Street with Caitlin, and the kids I took in for home day care!

In the afternoon there was a massive thunderstorm! You can hear me screaming with joy, as I finally captured lighting. I am too slow to take a photograph, I just run the camera while the storm is passing by. We had so much fun! These girls camp all through storms, they are hardy travelers!

Mommy pulled up the lightning webpage, and we watched the range of the thunder. Isn't that cool? She found out about the site through the Ottawa CBC weatherman, @BlacksWeather . The yellow dots are strikes, the red is a current one. The grey circle reflect the noise traveling. Momma sent me a screen capture from her phone.

My son-in-law BBQd. Bless his heart! There was thunder and lightning! Thankfully, there was a rainbow at the end!
Then, cake! And presents. I put together a book for them, from their photos in the UK! Caitlin was pleased!

Momma and Papa took off for home. Isabelle decided to go for a swim. Then, lunch. Then more hanging about. Josee decided to go for a swim. Isabelle went again. Then, we decided not to go out. Just more fun in the pool.
Next, a video. Then another swim! It was fun!

Monday, 14 August 2017

We had a porcupine killed by a car. They go so fast, speed demons. Porcupines go so slowly.
I've seen several ambling along.

I brought its heavy body up onto the open lot, so the vultures would get rid of it for us. There was just one vulture, although I've seen 8 at one time above the house. It only took about three days. The smell was horrid. I gave my grandkids a few porcupine quills, to look at them. This is sad, but it is the cycle of life. They move so slowly. Their claws are quite beautiful. Its head was a mess, so I won't show that. I knew the vultures would make quick work of it. Our vultures are frequent flyers!

Porcupine-eaten bark

From National Geographic:The North American porcupine is the only species that lives in the U.S. and Canada, and is the largest of all porcupines. A single animal may have 30,000 or more quills. North American porcupines use their large front teeth to satisfy a healthy appetite for wood.